DNA databases to be classified

[Peter Gutmann]

"Lucky Green" <shamrock at cypherpunks.to> quoted:

>The feat proves that even if all the polio virus in the world were
>destroyed, it would be easily possible to resurrect the crippling
>disease. It also raises the worrying possibility that bioterrorists
>could use a similar approach to create devastating diseases such as
>ebola and smallpox without having to gain access to protected viral
>stocks.

I saw this on BBC news.  It took a very sophisticated lab two years work to
produce polio.  They thought they might be able to do smallpox given about 20
years work.  They even managed to slip in an Internet reference in the story. 

I guess "We synthesised polio from RNA" just isn't newsworthy enough on its
own.

Peter.